A Tale About a Wish That a Witch Stole From Leo

Once Leo was playing on the playground. He already visited a school and thought that playgrounds did not interest him, because he is already an adult. But that day he saw very big and colorful playground, so he stopped his bike, took off his backpack, threw it on the ground and ran to play. Meanwhile, an evil witch approached his things. She saw something very important to her and decided to take it. She wasn't interested in the rover or the school books, the change left over from lunch or the pack of peanuts. The witch stole Leo’s wishes. So fast that no one had time to notice. She ran up, grabbed his desire and ran away. She stuffed all wishes into her pockets, bosoms, and bags. Didn't leave any. In a moment, Leo was no longer interested in the playground. The boy realized that he was already too big for these children's toys. He used to want to meet another boy and play catch-up, but again in a moment it became too boring. Suddenly everything became gray around. So the boy went to the bicycle.

Leo did not notice that his desires had disappeared. He was very bored at school even before that, he didn't like eating even before that. Now he stopped wanting even chips, burgers and cola. Leo was not interested in books or movies, the stories of his parents, other people. All he wanted to do was lie down and stare at the cell phone. He didn't quite understand why he should go to school if everything there was boring and gray. Why learn poems, why draw pictures, why solve problems.

A fairy tale for children: why you should watch your wishes

While Leo himself did not understand that his desire was stolen by a witch, his parents began to suspect something and worry. They discussed their son's behavior in the kitchen by the open window.

“He used to love my cakes so much, but today he didn't even eat them.”
“He used to wait for Sunday to ride bikes together. And yesterday I barely persuaded him to go for a ride.”
“What should we do?” - worried mother.

Fortunately for her, this conversation was overheard by the fairy Gabriela. She immediately understood what had happened. For a long time, she flew around the city and met traces of the work of the witch who stole children's wishes. She had to correct and fix everything, giving the children back the ability to wish. After all, desire is an extremely valuable treasure of every person. So Gabriela quickly flew to Leo. He was lying on the bed and watching a video on his phone.

“Well hi!” - said the fairy to Leo.
“What are you? A butterfly that can talk?” - said the Lion.
“Actually, I'm a fairy, my name is Gabriela. And I know you have huge problems. The witch stole all your wishes.”
“So what? Maybe I didn't really need them.”
“This is the first sign that you have no desires. You don't even want to return them! Stealing a wish is strictly prohibited, because it is the worst thing that can happen! And especially with a child! Desires make you move, live, rejoice! Without desire, you will even grow more slowly!”
“So be glad that you have a desire. And it's fine for me.”
“You have no idea who you have deal with!” - said the fairy.
“I am not afraid of the witch.”
“I'm not talking about the witch! I'm talking about myself! I am very stubborn! And if you have already met me, I will return your wishes. And then do whatever you want with them. Ignore them if you want, get rid of them if you want, replace one desire with another.”
“So what should I do to get you off me?” - Leo was angry.
“Take this bag, put it under your pillow before going to bed. When you fall asleep and start to dream, take a bag in your dream and put everything you see in it. So you can get all your wishes back.”

That's what Leo did. In general, this idea did not interest him at all, but the fairy really looked very upset and noisy. It was easier to agree with her, because there was no desire to argue at all. So the Lion put the bag under his pillows, fell asleep, and opened his eyes in his dream. It was very good there, easy and calm. Leo was sitting on a cloud, but there was nothing around him that could be put in a bag. Only other clouds. The boy began to paddle his hands in the air to move at least a little further and saw how his mother's cake was standing on one of the clouds. It smelled very delicious. So Leo put the cake in his beg, hoping that it would be enough for the fairy and she wouldn't bother him anymore.

The next day Leo woke up and looked under the pillow. He hoped that he would be able to find there the cake that he had placed there in his dream. But there was nothing. This upset Leo very much, he felt that he really wanted to eat his mother's pie. He began to regret not eating it when his mother was cooking. And he began to think about when his mother would want to cook it again. The only way to taste the cake as soon as possible was to simply ask the mother to bake it.

“Mom, can you bake a pie in the evening?” - asked Leo.
“Of course!” - the mother was happy that her son's appetite had returned and went to the kitchen to check whether she had all the ingredients. And Leo happily went to school. He killed two birds with one stone - got rid of the fairy and got the cake.

In the evening Leo looked at the opened window and was afraid to see a fairy there. But she did not fly. So, towards night, he breathed a sigh of relief and realized that he would not see this annoying creature again. But just as he thought about it, a fairy flew to him.
“What did you put in your bag?” - she asked Leo without greeting.
“Mom's cake.” - grunted the Lion dissatisfied. He really didn't like it when someone taught him and taught him how to live.
“Cake is cool, of course. But is that all? - the fairy got angry. - You could put anything in there! Flight to space, victory in sports competitions, a trip to warm islands. And you limited yourself to one pie? I hope that this night you put more interesting wishes in your bag, and most importantly, big wishes and even a few dreams!”

Modern fairy tale: read how the fairy returned the desire to Leo

So Leo once again had to row on a cloud and collect a new crop. He had no idea what he could take with him from the dream. It seemed to him that the pie was quite enough and he didn't want anything more. He could not understand why the fairy was fussy. Moreover, all her ideas about space and winning competitions were very difficult and unattainable. He didn't want to wish for such desires. Leo thought that they would not even fit in the bag. So that night he put down coke and more phone games, pizza and sushi, chips and new sneakers in his sleep.

The day passed and the evening came. Leo understood that the fairy would be displeased again. So he closed the window and turned off the light. There was an empty bottle of cola on his desk, and there was a new interesting game on his phone. So the boy hid under the blanket and played, hoping that Gabriela wouldn't get to him. But the trick flew to the boy through the gap between the doors and the floor. She flew under the blanket and sat on Leo's phone.

“The harvest is good, but there is no variety. Only the food. I expected more. Are you satisfied with such small desires?”
“Not really. I want new sneakers, but my parents don't have money for them. I want chips, but my mother won't let me eat them. I don't quite understand what is the use of those wishes.”
“Sometimes the wishes are such that it is difficult to fulfill them. For example, if you study well, you can win the Olympics and get a cash prize and buy sneakers. Desires make people tread paths and make progress. So all wishes are extremely important. Even the ones you can't do very quickly.”
“But the more impossible the desire, the more difficult it is.”
“Where did you get it from? Did you raise at least one, in your opinion, impossible wish in a dream?”
“No, I avoided them.”
“And you try! You will be surprised, but in a dream all desires are easy.”
“But many wishes will not fit in the bag, even if they are light.”
“Everything is possible in a dream! Although a million wishes can fit in my bag. Limitations exist only in this world. And in the world of dreams and wishes, there are no limits.”
“I will try to.”
“Just remember that tomorrow morning I will take the bag away forever. Every day, the evil witch crushes the wishes of other children. They need my magic bag too. So please take as many wishes as you can from sleep this night. And don't forget about dreams! About the most unattainable and the most unattainable, those in which no one will believe! Grab a few of these, they are extremely important!”

Leo obeyed the fairy. That night he worked very hard and put a lot of wishes in the bag. Desire to read books, desire to wash hair, desire to help dad fix the car, desire to do sports. The boy saw space in a dream and was sure that it would be too heavy and would not fit in the bag. But it turned out that everything is easy in a dream, even space. So Leo put space and stars, ocean depths and distant jungles, deserts and glaciers into the bag. He put there painted pictures and written books, learned languages and invented medicines, world peace and the absence of hunger. Everything really fit in the bag.

When Gabriela flew to Leo again, she was very pleased. She saw that the boy, along with a lot of wishes, took the desire to see her again. The fairy smiled.

“We will definitely see each other! The main thing is to move towards your desires. They are the best compasses that lead you in the direction of happiness. And please, never lose your wishes again.”

Since then, Leo's life has changed a lot. He understood how much wishes make life interesting and how important it is not to leave them anywhere, not to give them to anyone and not to destroy them, and also to be careful that no witch steals them.

Author - Margaryta Surzhenko